SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/tech-acid-durability

In ACID, what does Durability promise?

Once committed, changes survive even a crash or power failure.

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  1. Committed changes survive a crash ✔
  2. The database never slows down
  3. Data is checked for typos

Why: Durability means that after the database reports a successful commit, the change remains even after a system failure or crash. Database recovery mechanisms preserve committed work.

Huh, didn't know that: Isolation is the I in ACID: a transaction's changes stay invisible to other transactions until it commits.

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My database is so durable, it remembered my mistake even after I unplugged it.
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References

Answer: Committed changes survive a crash. Durability means that after the database reports a successful commit, the change remains even after a system failure or crash. Database recovery mechanisms preserve committed work.

  1. PostgreSQL Documentation: Glossary www.postgresql.org/docs/current/glossary.html
    Durability: The assurance that once a transaction has been committed, the changes remain even after a system failure or crash.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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